Kiwi Jessica Hobbs wins Emmy, pays tribute to her director Mum

Winning for Directing on The Crown, the New Zealander gave a heartfelt speech that's worth a watch.
Jessica Hobbs

Christchurch-born director Jessica Hobbs forged her career in Australia, making a name for herself with nuanced intelligent television drama including Love My Way, The Slap, Tangle, Rake and Devil’s Dust. In the last decade she’s been in the UK, working on Broadchurch, The Split and several series of The Crown.

It was for her work on Season four of The Crown (the episode ‘War’ depicting the breakdown between Charles and Diana) that Hobbs took home the Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing For a Drama Series at the 73rd Emmy Awards. She was up against fellow Crown director Benjamin Caron, as well as Bridgerton‘s Julie Anne Robinson, The Handmaid’s Tale‘s Liz Garbus, The Mandalorian‘s Jon Favreau, and Pose‘s Steven Canals. Three of the six directors were women.

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Rochelle Siemienowicz is the ArtsHub Group's Education and Career Editor. She was previously a journalist for Screenhub and is a writer, film critic and cultural commentator with a PhD in Australian cinema. She was the co-host of Australia's longest-running film podcast 'Hell is for Hyphenates' and has written a memoir, Fallen, published by Affirm Press. Her second book, Double Happiness, a novel, will be published by Midnight Sun in 2024. Instagram: @Rochelle_Rochelle Twitter: @Milan2Pinsk